My 6 tips to first time American Girl doll families

 I remember getting my very first American Girl doll for Christmas in 2011. It was an awesome day, and after getting many more dolls since then, it hasn't stopped being awesome. As an American Girl doll collector for 11 years, I thought I would share some advice to all of the potential new American Girl doll owners this holiday season, or for those who are giving an American Girl doll to someone special this year. 

1. Get a hairbrush

If I had to say one thing to every single new AG doll owner this holiday season, it would be, get a brush! American Girl dolls need a wire-wig brush to maintain their hair. Wire-wig just means that the bristles are metal and not plastic. You can get either the classic American Girl brush or, for a more accessible option, nearly all Target stores have the Our Generation Doll Hair Care Set. I remember not having a brush for my doll's hair, and it was really frustrating. Granted, my doll was Molly, who had braids that I kept in her hair, but not being able to brush the hair or style it for the first few months of owning the doll was annoying. If your doll doesn't come with braids or a similar factory hairstyle, a hairbrush is even more important in order to be able to maintain their hair and keep it from turning into a tangled mess. 

If your doll has very curly hair, you don't usually need any additional tools to start out with aside from a spray bottle and your own hands. If you would like more information on hair care for American Girl dolls, check out the r/americangirl community wiki on Reddit here. 

2. Don't cut your doll or their outfit with scissors!

Be Very Careful with the Scissors

Originally, AG dolls could be removed from the box without scissors. However, with the newest Truly Me dolls, this seems to be changing. My advice, attempt  to remove the doll from the box without scissors first. If scissors are needed, USE CAUTION, don't let a child do it, and be very very careful not to cut the doll's outfit or mark up their skin. I'll never forget the face of dismay when my sister used scissors to open her brand new GOTY doll in 2013, only for the scissors to slip through the thin foam sheet and cut the wrap-around detail on Saige's boot. It was incredibly disappointing, not to mention ruining the value of the boots if they were to be sold at a later date. 

3. Dolls are meant to have neck strings and short hairs

Short hairs like this are designed to better hide the wig cap and allow you to part your doll's hair, they are completely normal.

Long Neck Strings like this are completely normal and should NOT be cut.

A lot of people when they get their new dolls are very intently looking for imperfections within the doll. However, this means some people mistake completely normal doll features for defects. Neck strings, for example, are almost a thing of the past as American Girl has begun switching to Zip Ties. But, if your doll is used, they will likely still be there. These strings are completely normal and should NOT be cut. If you do cut these neck strings, you will be horrified when your doll's head falls off of its body. It really is something that should be avoided at all cost.  

Short hairs are also a common complaint, but 90% of the time they are meant to be there. Short hairs help cover the wig cap so a doll can have hairstyles like braids with the hair parted and not have the wig cap completely bare in the middle. Short hairs do not automatically mean the wig is low quality or has a defect. Occasionally, there are wigs where the short hairs don't get cut properly by the machines at the factory, but overall, short hairs are completely normal and don't mean that anything is wrong with your doll. 

4. Your doll may have additional items in their box

Joss came with Underwear and a her hearing aid underneath her book

Isabelle's pink dyed-hair extension was on the inside of her box.

Can YOU spot the charm bracelet in the upper right hand corner of the inside of the box?

Sometimes, American Girl dolls have elements to their story that are really important, like a charm bracelet or a hair extension. Or, maybe, they have some additional underwear included like Joss did back in 2020. Either way, these items are usually not shipped on the doll, and instead may be in separate packaging, either under their book or on the side of the box. Make sure to check the ENTIRE box before throwing anything away, looking for potential bracelets, hearing aids, or other items that you or your child may have missed during the opening of the doll.

5. Read the book 

Be sure and read the book included with the doll!

The books are such an important part of each American Girl doll, and I would highly highly encourage the recipient, no matter what age they are, to read the book that comes with their doll, or to have someone read the book to the recipient. Every single detail of each American Girl character's doll is designed to reflect an aspect of their story. Why does Corinne have a blue streak in her hair? Why do Maryellen's Bangs look so weird?  How did Addy get the dress that she's wearing? All of these questions can be answered by reading the book included with each doll. If your doll is from the Truly Me line, then YOU get to design your doll's story! 

And if you're an adult collector, I recommend also reading the books. They tell you so much about each doll's collection, and knowing the meaning behind the pieces makes the collections of each doll make a lot more sense. 

6. Join AG Rewards!

Every single tier gets something!

A lot of people don't join AG Rewards because they think they won't purchase enough stuff for it to be worth it. As someone who has been a member of AG Rewards since the program's inception, I can tell you that it is absolutely worth it to be a member, even if you rarely buy directly from American Girl. And I'm not just saying this as some weird advertisement (this is not paid in any way) or because I personally buy a lot of stuff from American Girl, it's because it really is beneficial to be a member of the loyalty program. If you're still debating on whether or not to join the program, know that you can unsubscribe from the marketing emails (although it is nice to have more fun emails to momentarily distract you from the many adult and not fun emails in your inbox) and it isn't a requirement to purchase anything in order to stay a member. If you're going to be making a purchase at least once a year, then it is absolutely worth it to join AG Rewards. 

American Girl Doll Diabetes Care Kit Tips and Tricks

 I recently purchased the Doll Diabetes Care Kit from AG during my recent trip to the Houston American Girl Place (AGP). Once I got home and was able to explore the kit some more, I realized there are some major design flaws that can be easily fixed using items available around your home. 

The first problem is that the sticker for the insulin pump doesn't stay on the plastic at all. It is constantly peeling off, and it makes me sad to think of all the kids who will get frustrated with this. 

The sticker won't stay on the insulin pump no matter how much I press it down. 

The solution? Use the double sided adhesive circles to stick the sticker onto the pump, and the sticker will not come off! (If you want to be able to change colors, don't do this, but I personally didn't care about the other patterns in the kit.)

I cut the adhesive circles in half and then used that to keep the sticker down. See how the other side is already now flush with the surface of the insulin pump?

Before using the adhesive circles on the back

After using the adhesive circles on the back!

The second problem is that the adhesive circles do a TERRIBLE job of sticking to the doll's cloth body. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, cloth doesn't stick to adhesive very well in most situations. Secondly, the doll's bodies, especially newer dolls, usually have a bit of a curve/contour to them, so the sticker isn't going on a flat surface but a concave or convex one. 

The solution? Elmer's school glue! I was wondering at first if this would be enough, but after using it, I think it's great! It's light enough that it can still be removed if you choose to do so, but it's also much better at holding the port (is it called a port? I think it technically is, the instructions refer to it as an "adhesive disk", unless they're talking about the adhesive circles, but I don't think they are...)

Notice how there's still a tiny bit of separation between the disk and the body due to the not-flat nature of the doll's body. With this method, I don't have to worry about accidentally brushing the disk off the body with the slightest touch. I also may try this school-glue method for things like hearing aids or other things that need a semi-permanent but still removable attachment. 

Other than these problems though, the kit itself is great. I do know someone with type 1 diabetes, who was also interested in the kit and they said it was very realistic. The insulin pin that really clicks was a big hit! A final problem I'd like to address is the cord, it is very stiff and also very short. A real insulin pump has a cord that's a bit less stiff and a little longer, I think if this kit were to ever be revamped then I'd hope this design flaw would be addressed, along with the others.

Overall, if you've ever considered getting this set, I would highly encourage it!! It's a great, cute set and is a nice addition to any AG collection. 

And lastly, the kit's pouch, with Laika's name written on it:

Laika McIntire's Diabetes stuff all in one convenient pouch!

How to restore old battery-powered toys

During the later half of the 20th century, batteries in children's toys have become more and more commonplace. For those of us who collect older or even vintage toys, this means that cleaning up batter acid leaks and having a process for restoring older toys that use batteries is essential. Here is my method for restoring such toys when they don't work after one battery change:

1: Replace the batteries 

The batteries need to be brand new, fresh, out of the box batteries. Some toys, more specifically any toy that uses button cell batteries, need exactly the right amount of battery power to function. Additionally, the batteries that have been laying around the house for months may have lost the last range of their power needed to power the device.

2: Remove any and all corrosion from the toy. This is an easy process, but don't touch the substance with your bare hands. Corrosion can be blue or also a yellow dried powder. 

Clean all metal pieces touching the batteries with isopropyl alcohol. sometimes you may even have to use a pipet to really get into all the nooks and crannies. (I didn't use a pipet one time and just poured some very carefully into my toy. Not the best method but it did work.) The metal can be corroded even if you can't see the corrosion, so i usually end up cleaning all of the metal parts touching the batteries even if they look clean. 

3: What to do when steps 1 and 2 don't work

Open the toy, if possible, and look for any messed up wires or other deformities or things that look unusual. If you have one (I'm lucky that my dad has one, I do suggest borrowing one if possible), you can use a battery tester with two pen like pieces to make sure power is still circulating properly throughout the device.

Some stuff can be repaired, some stuff can't, and some stuff can be repaired if you have access to the right tools and know-how. Keep trying and don't give up until you have to!

I used this method to restore Julie's tape recorder and it had great success. I kept trying to use older button cell batteries that i had never used, but they had been sitting around for so long that putting all of them in there still wasn't enough power to power the device. A fresh pack of batteries straight from the store did the trick. 

The American Girl RC Sports Car- Everything You Need To Know!

 Recently I purchased a used American Girl RC Sports Car, and I thought I would share my journey along with things I learned that weren't very obvious when I first got it.

The American Girl RC Sports Car first released in red in 2018. It has now been replaced with a pink and gold version of the car (bearing a close resemblance to the Our Generation Retro Convertible). The retail price of the car is $225. When it first came out, I did think it was cool, and it was something I was interested in owning but didn't think I would ever get it, simply because it was so expensive. 

So my local Once Upon a Child had one they were selling for $75. I wanted it, but it sold and I thought it was just something I had missed. However, when I went in to check their store the other day, they had one! It was missing one thing however, the most crucial thing, the wall charger that plugs into the wall to convert the wall power to the battery power (AC to DC, or maybe DC to AC? IDK I can't ever remember which is which, just that one is for wall and the other is for devices). They said they had tried to contact AG about getting a replacement but hadn't received a response. Therefore, they originally marked the car at $100 but took off $50 for the missing charger. This was an excellent choice! So, I left my phone number with them and contacted AG both through Facebook messenger and email. The facebook messenger contact got a quick response which told me that replacement chargers were available for $58. I was incredibly excited, I called my local Once Upon a Child back and told them I would be purchasing the car as soon as I could make it back to the store. 

This was my conversation about the replacement Charger. 

Now, things to know about this replacement part:

-It is only available by phone order, AG cannot take orders over Email, and it is not able to be purchased on their website.

-This replacement part is really a pack, including a new controller, charger and car battery. The pack cannot be split up, hence the $58 price tag. You could be left with extra items, which is not a bad thing.

-Purchase of this replacement part will count towards AG Rewards points (Shipping excluded)

-Customer service would always ask if I had the red car or the pink car. The replacement parts are the exact same, the battery and charger and controller are the same, they are just classified as two different products because they are two different colors. So, if you really want to, you could mix the pink charger (It's just the color of the label, the actual charger itself is black) with the red sports car, but I went ahead and got the red one. 

-The customer service call took about 30 minutes, which wasn't too bad, and I was able to place the order pretty easily. I just went through as if I was making a phone order, I didn't go to any special option on the phone line (I believe I just used extension #1)

So, with a $50 price tag for the car itself, which did have the controller and car battery, plus an adorable little tikes gas container that I haven't brought myself to throw away yet. (Plus the car is technically not even a gas powered vehicle, it's electric :) 

This Little Tikes gas container was thrown in with the doll car, it's just cute to think about the kid who probably played with it. 

... and the total of my AG replacement part order coming to about $73, I ended up with a $123 final price tag, $102 off the retail price! This was a Christmas present for me, so I didn't mind spending the money. I then brought the car home, sat, and waited.......

The package actually arrived pretty fast, it arrived with another AG order I had placed days before, and I was surprised with how fast it shipped. It finally arrived though, and this car is amazing!!!

It has excellent photo ops! Here are some other features of the car:

A cupholder that can fit most AG drinks!

A tiny rearview mirror

Door handles that open! Be sure to pull on the end closest to the sideview mirrors, if you pull at the other end the handle won't open. This was more difficult to figure out than it seems. 

A touch screen console! Plus the glove compartment opens so you can charge the car's battery without taking it out of the battery compartment every time. 

Seatbelts, so we can be safe!

Working headlights! These stay on all the time, at least to my knowledge. 

Working tail lights! They both flash when you back up and flash independently as turn signals when you turn the car. 

You'll also see here that the license plate is blank. The original set comes with stickers to put on the license plate so it can say whatever you want it too. Those were missing from the set, and I'm still debating on whether or not to try to get some stickers and put them on there or just leave it blank for fun. 

However, with everything, there are some cons. Here they are:

1. This car is loud, very loud. And not just because it has a working horn, the motor is incredibly loud. So, just beware that extended playtime may cause excessive weariness in the ears of those around you.

2. These doors can close in too far and get stuck on the inside of the car if you're not careful.

3. This car goes so fast that if your doll has glasses, I would recommend taking them off before putting her in the car. 

4. The amount of leg room in the car is tight, so if your doll is wearing platform shoes (The shoes to the Sunshine Garden outfit or the Pretty party outfit are two examples) she won't fit. The tennis shoes fit fine, just any thick-soled shoe doesn't. 

Pros:

1. The sideview mirrors are rubber and flexible so they won't break when knocked 

2. This is just a cool car, it drives, it's so cool!

3. The cup holder allows for you to hold a drink which, if you're a big collector like me, you may not have touched any of your doll food in a while. 

There are also certain features of other cars from AG, such as Julie's VW Bug, that I missed and wish had been included:

1. A trunk

2. A radio

3. The ability to turn the headlights on/off

However, all of these sacrifices are worth it to have a car that actually drives! I can't wait to see what cars AG comes out with in the future. 

Videos of the car coming soon on TheAGCollector101 YouTube Channel